The first iTunes Match royalties have arrived, and they’re music to artists’ ears. Elsewhere, one pilot’s lawsuit against his airline may not have enough lift for takeoff, and an iOS-based social network apologizes for getting just a bit too social. The remainders for Wednesday, February 8, 2012 are on the nose.

TuneCore, a service that helps independent musicians put their tracks on iTunes, has reported that its artists have earned more than $10,000 thanks to iTunes Match. One other interesting detail: Apparently a royalty gets paid for each and every time someone downloads or streams an iTunes Match track. You know, I think I’m just going to leave Jonathan Coulton streaming on repeat for the next couple weeks. (You’re welcome, JoCo—you just have to remind me to charge up my iPad every other day or so.)

Good to know the U.S. doesn’t have a monopoly on nutty lawsuits: A Virgin Australia pilot has sued the airline for a back injury he sustained when lifting his 40-pound flight bag, alleging that he wouldn’t have been hurt if Virgin had just loaded all the flight data on an iPad. Sure, it doesn’t sound like a big deal, but it actually would have been incredibly impressive, given that the injury occurred on December 29, 2009—a month before the iPad was announced and more than three months before it went on sale.

A pair of groups are planning a protest outside Apple’s Grand Central Terminal store over the working conditions at Foxconn plants in China, where Apple and other electronics companies manufacture their products. I just hope the protesters can avoid tweeting about the event via their iPhones.

G-Form, the same case maker who dropped an iPad from space, is now showing off its new iPhone case, which is so tough that it can withstand an 82 mph slapshot. Come to think of it, if the NHL started using iPhones as pucks—and showing video shot from them during the game—then maybe Americans would start watching hockey again.

Social network Path is very, very sorry. The company is sorry that it was collecting all of your contacts’ personal information when you used its iOS app to search for friends who might also be on the service. Also, it’s really sorry that it emailed your mom about that time that you were in town but didn’t call her. Really, very sorry.

To comment on this article and other Macworld content, visit our Facebook page or our Twitter feed.